*Disclaimer: this post will have some graphic stories and photos. I encourage you to read on anyway. It may not be what the general public sees on a daily basis, but it is my reality. My job.
The most frustrating part of my profession is that people assume there is a black and white. An easy way to determine something and then execute a plan to make it all better. That the laws are always on the side of the responsible, the caring, the savior. That the outcome is always positive. That justice prevails.
Most people working in any sort of law enforcement field, or social welfare, will be the first to tell you that nothing is easy. Nothing is straight forward. And the good guys don’t always ‘win’.
As you can imagine, the calls about animal neglect and abuse are abundant and an everyday occurrence. I have taken enough of these types of calls to usually be able to tell if anything will come of it or not based on the information provided to dispatch. The most common calls are dogs being kept outside without shelter/food/water, a skinny horse or cow standing in a pasture, someone hearing a noise in the apartment above that they presume is the owner beating his dog, or a skinny dog that they don’t believe is being fed. Of course we investigate all claims but some hold more merit than others. What someone perceives as animal neglect or abuse may not be, by definition or law, what is actually taking place. It is my job to sort this out and proceed accordingly.
One day I received a call about a live trap, with a skunk inside, having been dumped in the woods along the river. According to the caller the trap was closed and the animal had no way of getting out. Normally we would not respond to wildlife inquiries but I had the time that day, and I admit I wasn’t quite sure I believed the details of the call. So I went to investigate. I have dealt with a few skunks over the years. Usually the only reason we’d respond is if someone was bitten by one and we would have to send it in for rabies testing. Needless to say, I don’t care to deal with these stink bombs and lack the proper equipment to deal with their fury. I arrived anyway, looked for some time in the area indicated, and finally found the trap. Sure enough there was a skunk inside the trap and it was shut. My assumption is that someone had caught the nuisance animal on their property and then somehow transported it to the woods, now being too cowardice to open the trap and release it. A sure death sentence for the poor animal stuck inside. So close to freedom and yet doomed. The animal had been there long enough to have pulled leaves and sticks and dirt into the trap to make a bit of a nest for itself. It appeared listless and not willing to put up a fight. No food, no water, it has likely been here several days. I approached slowly…very slowly. I opened the trap door and propped it open so it could not snap shut again. God forbid it would startle the animal and then I would smell of skunk all of next week. It didn’t move much. I stood to the side, but he still didn’t make a move towards freedom. Perhaps he was so weak at this point that he didn’t really feel like it. Some encouragement with a long stick to the back of the cage where he sat eventually gave him the idea to get up and move out. He, or she, waddled off towards the river and to freedom. One soul saved from certain death. And one very nice live trap I now get to keep for free. How absolutely heartless of the human who just dumped it here.
The majority of our welfare checks are about dogs. The most common is a dog being kept outside and the caller believes it to not be properly care for, and/or they don’t think dogs should live outside at all. The law in my state allows a person to keep a dog housed outside at all times, provided it had proper shelter and water at all times and is fed regularly. The laws are basic and not very specific to breed or weather. This is where we use common sense to amplify the law. If a Husky is kept outside and it is the middle of January in Michigan, the dog is most likely completely content and loving it. A Chihuahua or Labrador Retriever kept outside in the same snow will likely not fare the same. A dog is not a dog, is a dog.
My coworker and I were asked to assist police at a residence that had just been raided where they had hoped to arrest an important individual. The person was unfortunately not there but they did discover a deceased dog in a dog house in the yard. Frozen solid this skinny pitbull body was fused to the bottom of the simple wooden dog house. We had to break the house apart to finally get the body un-stuck from the boards. The other residents at the home blatantly refused any acknowledgement of this dog or responsibility for its care. Photos were taken and the responding department promised to add animal cruelty charges to the already mounting charges this individual is facing with them. Unfortunately it is my experience that animal cruelty charges are often listed last and carry the least weight. Frequently deals between lawyers are made that completely disregard the charges in favor of the suspect pleading to more ‘important’ ones. We did not see this one to the end as the other agency was handling it. We don’t have the time to backtrack and look up results of cases when they finally go to court, as we are always looking ahead at the next one. I pray the dog owner responsible for the suffering of this poor soul was appropriately punished for it.
Many years ago, when I first started this career, I did see a coworker of mine get charges on someone who allowed a dog to simply starve and freeze to death in their yard. They also claimed not to be ‘responsible for the animal as it belonged to someone else’ but were held liable nonetheless. We had an amazing prosecutor who was a animal lover and recognized the severity of these cases.
These cases involved a dog that is not equipped to handle the cold to begin with, faced with a shelter that is completely inadequate for the weather and the needs it requires to stay alive. Once I received a call about a husky being left outside in winter. The caller was very upset that the owners would allow the dog to suffer this way. Upon further questioning the caller did admit that the dog has a dog house but they believe it to be too small for the dog since he is never inside it. I drove by the address anyway just to check and it turns out the husky had a perfectly good size dog igloo but chose to sit on top of it because, well, he’s a husky and it’s snowing and he’s perfectly happy up there. I am constantly amazed at how the general public perceives animal care, or lack thereof.
While the complaint regarding the husky was exaggerated and found to be of no issue, I sure wish someone in the neighborhood where the poor pitbull froze to death in his dog house would have been half as attentive and called that in. The dog could have been spared a miserable death if only someone would have cared just a little.
A few years ago I received a call about police response at a house regarding a suspect having threatened an ex-girlfriend, who was out of town, and ultimately hanging her dog as intimidation. She contacted local police who responded and found the threat to be true. After clearing the premises we were asked to do our part and remove the dog for evidence. We found the innocent animal dangling from a coat hook by a string. The suspect was long gone but it was only a matter of time for police to find him. The news reported him facing felony charges for killing the dog. Specifically it was written: “Animals- killing/torturing first degree accuses him of killing a companion animal with the intent to cause mental suffering or distress to a person or to exert control over a person. In addition to prison, it is punishable by a $5000 fine and up to 500 hours of community service”.
Domestic violence can often lead to pets being hurt because the abuser is using that pet as coercion or control. It is a mental weapon. And ultimately an innocent animal pays the price and the heartbroken owner feels helpless.
I recently had a case involving a Pomeranian puppy showing up at the animal emergency vet one too many times. The attending veterinarian became suspicious and contacted us. The little dog had a fracture once and shortly after that was brought in with a collapsed lung as well. The young woman who owned the dog clearly loved the pup but her stories didn’t add up. After many conversations and digging into the case it was confirmed that she was dating someone who was abuse towards her, and now also the dog. The suspect fled the area before we could apprehend him, but charges for animal cruelty were filed nonetheless and will follow him wherever he tries to hide. The dog, who thankfully recovered, went to live with the woman’s family and I pray she broke off communication with her abuser. Not just for the dog, but for her sake as well.
I will conclude Part 1 of my animal abuse stories by saying what I believe to be true: There is a special place in Hell for humans who do this to animals.